Types of Facebook Posts you Must Never Click

Facebook – the most popular online space where people share their love, humor, agony, and all sorts of emotions. And in the hustle of all such emotions, cyber criminals slither in their misdoings in the form of unwanted or potentially malicious posts. This post will help you identify the type of Facebook posts that are best left “unclicked” or “unshared”.

Celebrity Death Posts
Just recently, a post about Eminem being stabbed to death was doing the rounds on the Internet. And not long before that, Jackie Chan was also claimed to have died performing a dangerous stunt. Such death hoaxes feed on the curiosity of the masses, especially people who are ardent fans of such celebrities. Never click such posts that claim to take you to a video showing what actually happened. Clicking the link will either drop a malware onto your system or may make you fill a survey form. If you do get any such notification about a celebrity’s death, then run a Google search first and verify the same from trusted news sources.

Like, Share, and Comment to help Someone Posts
Online scammers can stoop to the lowest of levels to have their way. A common type of Facebook post that we get to see is one that shows the picture of an ill person (often a child), accompanied by a story narrating how they fell ill and are in need of dire financial help. Such posts often urge readers to help the ill person by liking, sharing, or commenting on the post. Because for every like or share, some random organization (sometimes Facebook itself) would donate money. What actually happens is, when the scammer who has created this story, has enough likes or shares, they can start placing ads on their Facebook page, and promote their business or whatever they intend to do.

Lose Weight in a Flash Posts
Who does not want a ripped body? And when tips and advices on losing weight come pouring in your Facebook page, then there’s nothing like it. Facebook diet posts happen to be the new nail in the toolbox of online scammers. Such posts often claim to give away amazing tips on weight loss. And more often than not, you may receive such posts from your friend, who may be completely oblivious of the fact that their account is being used to spew such scams. So, if you do receive any such amazing diet posts on your timeline from your friend or any other source, just run a background check with your friend or Google, before going any further.

Breaking News Posts from Unknown Sources
In the online world, treat the unknown as the devil. You may receive notifications of a breaking news from a source you have not heard about before or have not subscribed to. Steer clear of clicking any such posts; odds are, doing so may drop a nasty malware on your system. However, even if the news appears to have come from a trusted news source, first check their official website instead of clicking it on your Facebook page.

Facebook Free Gift Cards Posts
The word “Free” always manages to get the better of every person who stumbles upon it. And this very word is used by cybercriminals to dupe innocent netizens. Facebook free gift card posts are a new strain of scam which are going rampant across the Internet. To get the free gifts, all a user needs to do is share the post with their friends. First of all, if you happen to like or share such posts, you are spamming it to your friends. Thereafter, you may be asked to complete a survey before you can get your hands on the free goodies. In some cases, such surveys may ask you for your personal details. And in some, it may install a malware on your system. And as far as the gift card is concerned, you will get none.

There you have it; posts on Facebook that you must steer clear of. It cannot be denied that it is difficult to tell a genuine weight loss post or a breaking news post from a fake one. But, you can always do a background check on any such post as a thoughtful precautionary measure.

Not to forget, using a reliable security software that provides multilayered protection against malware is also imperative. If your computer has multiple users, and you fear that they might be unaware of such Facebook scams, then you can benefit from Quick Heal Total Security. Its parental control feature allows you to block websites that are used to promote online scams. Among other features, this suite also offers protection against fraudulent and phishing websites.

Rajiv Singha